Tijuca Forest

Tijuca Forest

Tijuca Forest, or Floresta da Tijuca in Portuguese, is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the world's largest urban forest, covering some 32 square kilometers.

The Tijuca Forest is home to hundreds of species of plants and wildlife, found only in the Atlantic Rainforest. After all the original forest had been destroyed to make way for coffee farms, Tijuca was replanted by Major Manuel Gomes Archer in the second half of the 19th century, in a successful effort to protect Rio's water supply. Tijuca Forest also contains the colossal sculpture of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, the Cascatinha Waterfall, the Mayrink Chapel (with murals painted by Cândido Portinari), the pagoda-style gazebo at Vista Chinesa outlook, and the giant granite picnic table called the Mesa do Imperador. Among its impressive peaks is the Pedra da Gávea. In 1961, Tijuca Forest was declared a National Park.